England Team Depth Labelled 'Ridiculous' - Welsh Manager Bellamy
- Published
Friendly match: Wales vs England
Venue: London's Wembley, the capital Date: October 9th Kick-off: 7:45 PM BST
The Wales head coach says the English player pool is so impressive that matchmakers would not pair them with the Welsh team.
Bellamy's men meet their neighbors in a non-competitive match at Wembley on Thursday before their important qualifying match against the Belgians next the following week.
National team coach Tuchel has left the such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Grealish out of his selection for the match against Wales and their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
"The English have a ridiculous team, similar to the French," Bellamy said.
"England have a market valuation of 1.4 billion pounds, Wales' is £170m. Were you a boxing promoter, you would not put us together. That wouldn't be permitted."
He explains ensuring the Welsh team can face the star-studded rivals is a "key motivation".
The Wales head coach continued: "We do not rely on values, but the simple fact is England have more than one team. They have two, three, four and the French and others have the same level. England have loads of top talents and that's the honest truth."
"A defender went out with injury the other day and there are two dozen others to choose from! They have over sixty players. I'd love Wales to be well-equipped similarly."
The neighbouring countries last faced each other at the 2022 World Cup in the Middle East, when the English emerged as easy 3-0 winners in a fixture before the previous England team made it to the quarter-finals.
Southgate's successor is Thomas Tuchel, a European and Fifa Club World Cup winner at the London club who has claimed league championships in France and his home country.
The Welsh boss was formerly an assistant at Anderlecht and the English club to Vincent Kompany, who succeeded Tuchel at the German giants.
"He's an outstanding manager - his record is proven," Bellamy noted.
"I possess a degree of insight because the team he departed I am familiar with individuals who have joined. I get a bit of an insight from that of his methods and it's remarkable. "
"His strategic planning is elite and I wanted to be up against such a challenge - observe how you're going to adapt because he adapts too. I can learn from that. I'd love to get to such heights."
Wales Squad Selection
Goalkeepers: Darlow (Leeds), Davies (Sheffield United), King (the Toffees).
Backline: Cabango (Swansea), Dasilva (Coventry City), B. Davies (Spurs), Kpakio (Cardiff), Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff), Chris Mepham (West Bromwich Albion), Rodon (Leeds), Neco Williams (Forest).
Midfielders: Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United), Brooks (Bournemouth), J. James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais), Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Harry Wilson (the Cottagers), Joel Colwill (Cardiff), R. Colwill (Cardiff City).
Forwards: Nathan Broadhead (the Red Dragons), Cullen (Swansea), Harris (Oxford), Lewis Koumas (Birmingham City - on loan from the Reds), Johnson (Spurs), Moore (Wrexham), Isaak Davies (Cardiff).
